Matthew 8:11

“And I tell you that many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,”

Matthew 8:11 · direct translation from the Greek
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With the Greek beneath

11

Matthew 8:11, word by word

I tellλέγωlegō

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “legō” appears
manyπολλοὶpolloi

many

A great number of people or things.

Where else “polloi” appears
will comeἥξουσινhēxousin

have come

Come, arrive, be here.

Where else “hēxousin” appears
eastἀνατολῶνanatolōn

east

The quarter of sky and land toward which day breaks.

Where else “anatolōn” appears
westδυσμῶνdysmōn

west

West, where the sun sets.

Where else “dysmōn” appears
sit at tableἀνακλιθήσονταιanaklithēsontai

recline

Lie or make lie down to eat, on couches or on the grass.

Where else “anaklithēsontai” appears
AbrahamἈβραὰμAbraam

Abraham

Abraham, the father of the people of Israel, to whom God promised to bless all the families of the earth through his offspring.

Where else “Abraam” appears
IsaacἸσαὰκIsaak

Isaac

Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah, the son of the promise.

Where else “Isaak” appears
JacobἸακὼβIakōb

Jacob

Jacob, son of Isaac, also called Israel; father of the twelve tribes.

Where else “Iakōb” appears
the kingdomβασιλείᾳbasileiai

kingdom of God

God's rule, which comes with Jesus.

Where else “basileiai” appears
of heavenοὐρανῶνouranōn

heaven

God's dwelling, above all that is created.

Where else “ouranōn” appears

Translation note

“Sit at table”: literally “recline,” as people ate at banquets; an image of the great banquet of the kingdom.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The centurion's servant

Luke 7:1-10John 4:46-54

John 4 tells of a royal official; it is discussed whether it is the same event.

See them side by side

Matthew 8:5-13

5When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him 6and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, terribly tormented.” 7And he says to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8And the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say a word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11And I tell you that many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And the servant was healed in that hour.

Luke 7:1-10

1When he had completed all his words in the hearing of the people, he went into Capernaum. 2Now a certain centurion’s slave, who was highly valued by him, was sick and was about to die. 3And when he heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and save his slave. 4And when they came to Jesus, they were urging him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you grant this, 5for he loves our nation, and he himself built the synagogue for us.” 6And Jesus was going with them. And when he was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you; but say a word, and let my servant be healed. 8For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9And when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

John 4:46-54

46So he came again to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son was sick in Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. 48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” 49The royal official says to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50Jesus says to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went on his way. 51And as he was already going down, his slaves met him, saying that his boy was alive. 52So he asked them the hour when he began to get better. So they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus had said to him, “Your son lives.” And he believed, and his whole household. 54Now this was again a second sign that Jesus did, having come from Judea into Galilee.

Many will come from east and west

Luke 13:28-29

A similar saying; scholars discuss whether it is the same saying in another setting or a repeated one.

See them side by side

Matthew 8:11-12

11And I tell you that many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Luke 13:28-29

28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you being thrown out. 29And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.

The context

10Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

11 · This verse (above)

12but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Read all of Matthew 8

To study Matthew 8 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    What did the centurion say to Jesus about his servant, and how did Jesus respond (vv. 8–10)?

  2. 2. What it means

    What do these healings and the calming of the sea show about who Jesus is (v. 27)?

  3. 3. How I live it

    The centurion asked for help for his servant (vv. 5–6). Whom could you stand with today in a need that isn't yours?

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